Arbitration agreement inferred from correspondence and conduct, confirming jurisdiction and enforcement of the foreign award.

A written arbitration agreement may be inferred from the parties' correspondence and conduct, even without signatures from both sides. In commercial contracts, effect is given to the parties' intention, and technical objections will not defeat an agreed arbitral framework. The parties' exchange of letters and emails, acceptance of amended payment terms, and conduct under the sales contract supported the inference that they had agreed to arbitration at the Singapore Commodity Exchange. The counterclaim filed before the tribunal also showed submission to the arbitral process. No valid ground was shown to resist enforcement under Part II, so the foreign award was upheld and enforced.

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Issues: Whether a valid arbitration agreement could be inferred from the parties' correspondence and conduct so as to uphold the foreign award and its enforcement.

Analysis: An arbitration agreement need not be signed by both parties if the record shows agreement through exchange of letters, emails, or other communications. In construing a commercial contract, effect is to be given to the parties' intention and not defeated by a technical approach. The correspondence showed that the parties acted on the sales contract, accepted amended payment terms, and proceeded on the basis of the contractual framework containing arbitration at the Singapore Commodity Exchange. The appellant also filed a counterclaim before the tribunal, which amounted to submission to the arbitral process. The award was not challenged, and no valid ground was shown to resist enforcement under Part II of the Act.

Conclusion: The arbitration agreement was validly established, the arbitral tribunal had jurisdiction, and the foreign award was enforceable. The appeal failed.

Ratio Decidendi: A written arbitration agreement may be inferred from correspondence and conduct even without signatures, and a party that acts on the contract and participates in the arbitration cannot later resist enforcement on a plea of want of jurisdiction.

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